Written Answers Thursday 27 August 2009

Scottish Executive

Asthma

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to meet with Asthma UK Scotland to discuss the impact that the influenza A(H1N1) virus could have on people with asthma.

Nicola Sturgeon: Asthma UK participated in a recent UK-wide workshop to disseminate the latest advice on the current pandemic. My officials are currently in discussions with Asthma UK Scotland to consider how they can support the dissemination of these messages in Scotland, including the specific impact on people with asthma.

Cancer

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to promote better awareness among women of the signs and symptoms of breast cancer.

Nicola Sturgeon: Better Cancer Care: An Action Plan published in October 2008, outlines the government’s commitment to improving cancer care in Scotland.

  Whilst no specific action is currently being taken to promote awareness of the signs and symptoms of breast cancer, the Scottish Government is aware that the earlier any cancer is diagnosed, the greater likelihood of a cure. The Scottish Cancer Taskforce is responsible for overseeing the commitments made in Better Cancer Care and raising awareness will feature as a future agenda item for the group.

  The Scottish Government’s advice is that any woman who has concerns regarding unusual breast symptoms (pain, lumps or a discharge) should consult their general practitioner for advice as soon as possible.

Cancer

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage women to check their breasts regularly for signs and symptoms of breast cancer.

Nicola Sturgeon: Based on current evidence, the Scottish Government does not actively encourage women to self examine their breasts.

  Opportunistic examination may however occur as a result of an interaction with a healthcare professional, for example during a consultation for a breast lump, painful breasts or contraceptive advice.

  Woman are encouraged to be aware of the shape and feel of their breasts so they are familiar with what is normal for them. Anyone who has any concerns regarding unusual breast symptoms (for example pain, lumps or a discharge) should consult their general practitioner for advice as soon as possible.

Cancer

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to increase awareness among women of the risk factors associated with breast cancer.

Nicola Sturgeon: Action is taking place to tackle the known risk factors for many cancers (including breast cancer) such as alcohol, diet, physical activity, smoking and deprivation.

  The Scottish Government is implementing a wide-ranging programme of action to encourage healthy lifestyle choices, with a particular focus on tackling health inequalities.

Cancer

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the percentage of successful outcomes as a result of radiotherapy treatment is in each NHS board area.

Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held centrally.

  Radiotherapy is often delivered as part of a complex treatment regime, which may for example also involve chemotherapy and/or surgery. It is not currently possible to establish or classify the outcomes solely related to radiotherapy treatment.

Cancer

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to give cancer patients access to intensity modulated radiotherapy and proton therapy.

Nicola Sturgeon: Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is currently delivered at two Scottish cancer centres (for certain tumours only) with two centres having plans under development to introduce IMRT. Although not all centres currently have machines capable of delivering IMRT, all radiotherapy equipment procured in the future will be IMRT capable.

  Proton beam therapy service is currently available to patients in Scotland where this is deemed the most appropriate form of treatment. As for the rest of the UK, this currently involves patients being referred to Europe.

Health

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were admitted to a hospital in the Lothians region as a result of an injury from a bladed object in each of the last three years, broken down by people aged (a) under 15, (b) 15 to 18, (c) 19 to 21, (d) 22 to 24 and (e) 25 to 28 and by local authority.

Nicola Sturgeon: The following table shows the number of patients admitted as an emergency to acute hospitals in NHS Lothian as a result of injury due to accidental contact with a knife, sword or dagger or contact with a sharp object of other intent (assault, intentional self-harm or undetermined intent).

  In order to protect patient confidentiality, cells with small numbers (one-four cases) have been suppressed. To prevent suppressed cells being disclosed through differencing, some additional cells with greater than four cases have also been suppressed.

  Table: Number of patients admitted as an emergency to an NHS Lothian hospital due to accidental contact with sword, knife or dagger or other contact (due to assault, intentional self-harm or undetermined intent) with sharp object broken down by year of discharge, council area of residence and age group:

  

Year of Discharge
Council Area of Residence
Age Group


0-14
15-18
19-21
22-24
25-28


2005-06
City of Edinburgh
5
19
30
31
37


East Ayrshire
-
-
*
-
-


East Lothian
-
5
*
*
*


Fife
-
*
-
-
*


Midlothian
*
*
-
*
*


North Lanarkshire
-
-
-
*
-


Scottish Borders
*
-
*
-
-


West Lothian
5
6
14
6
10


Total
13
35
53
42
54


2006-07
Aberdeen City
*
-
-
-
-


City of Edinburgh
8
23
37
31
30


East Lothian
-
*
*
*
*


Fife
-
*
-
-
-


Highland
-
-
-
-
*


Midlothian
-
12
5
*
11


Scottish Borders
-
-
*
*
*


South Lanarkshire
*
-
-
-
-


West Lothian
*
6
5
8
5


Total
11
50
49
49
50


2007-08
City of Edinburgh
*
39
37
35
32


Clackmannanshire
-
-
-
-
*


East Dunbartonshire
-
-
*
-
-


East Lothian
*
5
7
*
5


Falkirk
-
-
*
-
-


Fife
-
*
*
-
*


Midlothian
-
8
9
*
*


North Lanarkshire
-
*
-
-
*


Renfrewshire
-
-
*
-
-


Scottish Borders
-
*
-
-
*


West Lothian
*
14
18
11
19


Total
7
69
77
58
68



  Source: ISD Scotland (SMR01).

  Notes:

  *Suppressed.

  -Zero value.

  1. Up to six diagnoses (one principal, five secondary) are recorded on the SMR01 return. External causes are coded in the secondary position and all five secondary diagnosis positions have been used to select for the data presented above.

  2. The following codes from the International Classification of Diseases 10th revision (ICD-10) were used to identify injuries caused by assault by sharp object: W26 (contact with knife, sword or dagger), X78 (intentional self-harm by sharp object), X99 (assault by sharp object) and Y28 (contact with sharp object, undetermined intent).

  3. There are no ICD10 codes for self-harm, assault or undetermined intent that specify the type of sharp object. As such, these figures may overestimate contact with a bladed object.

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of recent judgements in Holland, whether it is reviewing requirements for doctors practising complementary medicine to refer patients with life-threatening illnesses to mainstream care.

Nicola Sturgeon: The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator for doctors in the United Kingdom and its role is to protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public.

  All doctors are expected to practise in accordance with GMC published guidance including Good Medical Practice, which sets out advice on the essential elements of care, including the need to provide treatments that best serve the patient’s needs and the need to provide treatments that are based on the best available evidence, and Consent: Patients and Doctors Making Decisions Together, which reminds doctors of their responsibilities in relation to discussing treatment options including the potential side-effects, complications and other risks associated with these together with the need to seek consent to treatment.

  The GMC has strong and effective legal powers designed to ensure proper standards in the practice of medicine, including taking action where those standards have not been met.

NHS Staff

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies exist for radiographers in each NHS board area

Nicola Sturgeon: This is a matter for NHSScotland boards who have delegated authority over recruitment issues. The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.

  NHSScotland advertises all vacancies centrally on the Scotland’s Health on the Web site:

  http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk. 

  The Information Services Division Scotland also holds information on allied health professions’ vacancies which can be found at this link http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/5253.html.

Nutrition

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of primary school children receive free fruit, broken down by local authority and school year.

Keith Brown: The Survey of School Meals 2009 was published on 23 June 2009 and table 20 shows the number and percentage of schools in each local authority who have extended their free fruit scheme beyond P1-P2 pupils. We do not hold information on the number, or year group, of pupils who received free fruit http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/06/22104701/0 .